A 1980 news report on Laserdiscs, the "latest electronic wonder"

Why is Laserdisc better than tape?  Sacramento station KTXL investigates!

Pink Lady, Hugh Hefner and the Playboy Bunnies sing "My Kind of Town"

From the 1980 variety show "Pink Lady," one of the greatest bad ideas ever aired.

Morning Cartoon: The Harlem Globetrotters Meet Snow White

In the '70s and early '80s, Hanna-Barbera was basically just trying to retry its name characters in as many combinations as it could.  Laff-a-Lympics!  Robonic Stooges!  Fred and Barney Meet the Thing!  That makes the bizarre combination of 1980's "The Harlem Globetrotters Meet Snow White," aired as part of "Fred and Barney Meet the Schmoo" a little bit more understandable, but it's still kind of strange watching the Globetrotters try to help Snow White learn how to really handle an apple.

Morning Music Video: The Silencers - "Peter Gunn, Remote Control and Illegal" with Ken Foree

DAWN OF THE DEAD's Ken Foree tends bar in a wild world of excitement, future sunglasses, colorful lighting, remote controls, and a concert to close the show.

Music

Jerry Lewis sings the 7-Eleven Coffee Song in a 1980 commercial

Man's got bills to pay.

Music Video: Commander Cody - "Two Triple Cheese Side Order of Fries"

Country rock band Commander Cody (and His Lost Planet Airmen) appeared in HOLLYWOOD BOULEVARD right before they disbanded, and Cody (aka George Frayne) went his own way thereafter.  This homage to a classic meal deal was released in 1980.

THE APPLE gives you SPEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEED!

Menaham Golan's 1980 musical epic THE APPLE is one of the most dazzlingly bizarre musicals ever made.  The tale of a Carpenters-esque pop duo in the futuristic year of 1994 that runs afoul of a diabolical music mogul named Mr. Boogaloo is a religious allegory, a disco spectacle, and an unstoppable juggernaut of absurdly flashy sequences that will make you wonder how the hell it got made.  It's also impossible to forget.  Here is star Catherine Mary Stewart belting out (with the help of singing voice Mary Hylan) singing a very subtle song.

Morning Cartoon: Wild Times at the Wildwood (1980) from "Simpsons" and "Recess" director Chuck Sheetz

Aired on "Night Flight" (where this rip is from) and included in at least one VHS animation compilation, Chuck Sheetz' 1980 tale of a teenage road trip is filled with girls, booze and shenanigans, and feels like a better '80s melancholy teen sex comedy stripped to its five minute core.  (Don't worry, SFW.)  Sheetz later became the director of most of "Recess" along with more than a few "Simpsons" episodes, including the great "Simpsoncalifragilisticexpiala-Annoyed-Grunt-cious."

Morning Cartoon: Ending animation from 1980's SKATEBOARD MADNESS

It's kind of surprising that Disney didn't sue for the random appearance of a psuedo-Mickey Mouse in the animation segment that closes off SKATEBOARD MADNESS, a 1980 skateboarding pic featuring narration by Phil Hartman.  (His voice isn't in this clip.)  This segment was apparently kept out of the DVD release of the film, which is a shame, as it's a lot of HEAVY METAL-ish fun.  The animator is Arne Jin An Wong.

Commercial for Alligator: The Board Game, based on the 1980 horror flick

It seems a little odd that there was a kid's game based on the Lewis Teague/John Sayles flick about a man-eating gator featuring Robert Forster and Henry Silva, but hey, different time.

1980 animated short features A MINUTE OF MYSTERY

C'mon, couldn't you use 60 seconds of excitement in your life?  Animated by Joey Albuhm.

Superman fights the forces of the evil Nick O'Teen in this 80s commercial

I don't believe there are any plans to revive Nick O'Teen for the new Superman films, which is a shame, as it's be great to have a break from Lex Luthor again.  He did, however, appear in print form as well.

Telly Savalas looks at Aberdeen in 1980

One of a few Savalas-hosted travelogues, everyone's favorite bald detective is a natural choice for a look at the harbor and the oil industry.  Because why not, even if he never actually visited the city.

Lynda Carter does Tina Turner, Bette Midler and Kiss in her 1980 variety special

After the end of "Wonder Woman" in 1979, Lynda Carter tried her hand at variety shows, hosting several one-shot specials in the early '80s. This glorious musical number comes from her 1980 special, in which Carter indulges in a fantasy that involves covering the likes of noteworthy divas Turner, Midler and Gene Simmons. If Carter's outfit in the Kiss number looks familiar, it may be because Simmons wore essentially the same outfit as a hermaphrodite bent on world domination in NEVER TOO YOUNG TO DIE, surely one of the weirdest cases of costume kismet ever.

Watch This Thing - An electric car set based on William Friedkin's CRUISING

Sure, it's fake, but the makers of this faux commercial for a kid's playset based on the Pacino S&M classic really nailed the tone. Who wouldn't want this?

Watch This Thing - Creepy 1980 short film LIVING DOLLS

With echoes of TOURIST TRAP and MANIAC, Todd Coleman's low-budget short film shot in Charleston, South Carolina about a janitor with a very special relationship with a group of bridal shop mannequins used to play in between programming on the USA Network in their less-structured days.

Watch This Thing - 1980 martial arts short BLACK PANTHER: THRONE OF BLOOD, with effects by Greg Cannom!

Not the Marvel Comics character, but this 1980 short film, an homage to pulp adventure serials and martial arts flicks featuring Kang Yi as "Black Panther," who rescues a young woman from sword-wielding bad guys, would be notable enough even if if didn't feature special effects by future Oscar-winner Greg Cannom. Anyone have more info on this one?